The Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival returns to Atlanta

Several years ago my friend Ben, who lived in Tennessee at the time, posted on Facebook about a magical festival that included some of my favorite things to eat & drink, all wrapped into one festival. I was heartbroken to find out that this touring festival had not yet included Atlanta on the list. The event returns to Atlanta this Saturday, March 2nd at Atlantic Station.

The company that puts on the tour is based out of Maryland and I hadn’t heard much about the event in the months leading up to it and didn’t know what to expect, but I had a great time & was happy to be invited. The beer list isn’t as extensive as other beer festivals around town (although they have plenty of my favorites- Heavy Seas, Monday Night Brewing, Goose Island & New Holland to name a few, but the quantity & quality of bourbons on the list are stellar. General admission tickets are very reasonable, at $35 a pop, and if you think you’ll be stiffed on the good bourbons, you’d be wrong. The young woman at the top of this post was pouring Pappy 23 in the regular tent, not the VIP tent. I can’t promise that this year, but if you aren’t familiar with the bourbons on the list below, I’d do your research before coming out because it can be overwhelming.

VIP Tickets are almost sold out as of this writing, and I think are worth the cost as it gives you some breathing room two hours before the main event begins, and food is included in that tent. There’s plenty of food available for purchase at the general admission level. This is also where I warn you that there are photos of pig on a smoker down below.